The Director of Industrial Relations is charged with responsibility for labor management, national negotiations, mechanization, safety and health for all divisions of the union, and the administration of the collective bargaining agreement.

There’s more to being a progressive union than achieving and enforcing a contract — and that’s where the Human Relations Department comes in. Our programs and benefits inspire members to participate in the union and give them a sense of inclusion, contribution, and ownership.

The Maintenance Craft is a diverse and complex division of the APWU. In addition to the three national officers who work at the union's headquarters in Washington, DC, representation is provided by nine Maintenance National Business Agents (NBAs) and three all-craft NBAs.

The Motor Vehicle Craft is composed of APWU members who transport mail and maintain postal vehicles, and includes MVS Clerks, who work in Vehicle Maintenance Facilities and in Transportation Departments in mail processing plants.

The Support Services Division represents APWU bargaining unit members at Information Technology/ Accounting Service Centers, Operating Services facilities, Mail Equipment Shops and Material Distribution Centers, as well as professional nurses employed by the Postal Service. The Division also includes APWU-represented workers who are employed in the private sector, including mail haul drivers and Mail Transport Equipment Service Center employees.

The Northeast Regional Coordinator is responsible for union activity in parts of New York and New Jersey, and Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The Western Region Coordinator is responsible for the union's activities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and American Samoa, Guam and Saipan.

The Deaf/Hard of Hearing Task Force is a forum for APWU members to address their unique problems and concerns in the workplace, union, and society. Established in 1988 by an amendment to the APWU National Constitution, its goals include: better communication, better representation; better training, a better workplace, a better union, and building friendship.

APWU POWER (Post Office Women for Equal Rights) is the women’s committee within the American Postal Workers Union. It unites women, with their special concerns, yet works within the framework of the national APWU organization.

The APWU National Postal Press Association (PPA) provides APWU communicators with a wide range of assistance, information, and educational programs concerning the publication of union newsletters and media.

Latest News

03/16/2018 - The APWU was informed on October 26, 2017 of the Postal Service’s intent to roll out a new program called the Safety Ambassador Program. The Postal Service intends to replace the safety captain program, and any other local safety programs, with this “standardized” and nationally controlled program. The American Postal Workers Union does not support, agree with, or endorse this program.

Using their latest catch phrase—employee engagement—the Postal Service claims that this program “will focus on employee engagement, training, communication, hazard identification/abatement, and accident reduction.” Having a safe workplace is every worker’s right and you must fight for that right! However, the Safety Ambassador Program appears to be nothing more than an end-around our currently negotiated joint union-management safety procedures.

The conference commences promptly at 8:30 AM on Friday, May 18, 2018. It will conclude Saturday, May 19, 2018, no later than 6 PM. It will be held at the Hotel Lumière at the Arch, 999 North Second Street, Saint Louis, MO 63102.

After Nine Day Strike, Workers Win All their Demands Including a Pay Raise, a Freeze on Any Health Insurance Premium Increase and Governor Veto of Anti-Worker Legislation

03/14/2018 - It was an inspirational show of solidarity. Education workers across all 55 counties in West Virginia – about 34,000 workers in total – said ‘enough is enough.’ Members of the American Federation of Teachers - West Virginia (AFT-West Virginia), the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), and the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association (WVSSPA) went out on strike from Feb. 22 – Mar. 6. Together, they were victorious.

On March 2, thirteen APWU members participated in a day-long focus group to test the curriculum being developed by Rutgers University’s Labor Education Center for the union’s ongoing efforts to build an APWU broad-based educational program, known as the APWU National Institute.

03/07/2018 - With contract negotiations set to begin early summer, President Mark Dimondstein has announced the names of union members who will serve on the Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee. In accordance with the APWU Constitution, each member of the National Executive Board names one person to the committee; a 14th member, appointed by the president, is a member of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Task Force.

03/02/2018 - On Monday, Feb. 19, members of the Florida Keys Area Local held an informational picket in front of the main post office in Key West, shining a light on the severe slashes to staffing and service that are causing mail delays and hazardous working conditions.

02/28/2018 - On February 27, 2018, the Postal Service and the APWU Maintenance Division signed an agreement resolving national level disputes in case numbers (Q10T-4Q-C 14171644 and Q10T-4Q-C 16481407).

The outstanding issue revolves around Arbitrator Goldberg’s REMANDED Decision of September 13, 2017:

“The issues of whether the revisions to the MS-1 dealing with (a) preventative maintenance time allowances and frequencies, and (b) space adjustments and miscellaneous work time allowances violated Article 19 are remanded to the parties.”

02/23/2018 - In accordance with the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement, career employees represented by the APWU will receive a 25 cent per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), effective March 3.

The increase is the result of a rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W). It will appear in paychecks dated March 23, 2018 (Pay Period 06-2018), and will total $520.00 per year.